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Little Women
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Little Women: Book 1

Little Women (1868) (edit title/settings)

by Louisa May Alcott (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. The story follows the lives of four sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. Meg is the oldest, and a beauty. She is happy to fall into the role of mother to her sisters when their mother is gone, and seeks to find a good... read more

Summary edit see section history

The four March sisters and their mother, whom they call "Marmee", live in New England during the Civil War. Mr. March is a chaplain in the Union Army and rarely at home. The March girls suffer many privations because of the war and their poverty, but contrive to be happy by performing... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The four March sisters and their mother, whom they call "Marmee", live in New England during the Civil War. Mr. March is a chaplain in the Union Army and rarely at home. The March girls suffer many privations because of the war and their poverty, but contrive to be happy by performing charitable services for neighbors, staging home theatricals, and attending parties. Theodore "Laurie" Laurence III, the grandson of Mr. Laurence, their wealthy next-door neighbor, makes their acquaintance and falls in love with Jo, the tomboy of the March family. Meg is the eldest, a governess who wishes she were rich. Beth is Jo's pet; she is shy, quiet, and very musical. All she ever wants is to be at home. Amy is the youngest, a selfish, pretty little artist who often fights with Jo. At the end of the first part of Little Women, Meg is engaged to Laurie's tutor John Brooke; Beth has recovered from a terrible illness she contracted from helping a poor, starving family; Jo wants to write a great novel; and Amy is growing less selfish and more womanly every day. In addition, their father has come home from war. At the beginning of Good Wives, Meg and John are getting married. They have twins, a boy and a girl named Daisy and Demi. Daisy is very sweet and loving, while Demi is mischevious and curious about everything. Laurie graduates from college and proposes to Jo. However, she doesn't want to marry him; he has always been just a brother to her. He goes to Europe to get over his failed proposal. Amy is already there; her aunt sponsored the trip and is taking care of her as she tours all over. Jo goes to New York to try to make something of herself, but she realizes that her writing dreams might be unattainable. But she does make a very good friend: Professor Friedrich Bhaer, who tutors in the house she stays in. Meanwhile, Beth's illness comes back and she eventually dies, leaving a very lonely Jo behind. Amy is still in Europe when Beth dies. She is all alone in a foreign land until Laurie comes to her; they spend months together and a love blossoms. They marry and have one daughter, Beth. Professor Bhaer comes to visit the March family and proposes to Jo, who accepts. They marry and open a boys' school (as well as having two boys of their own, Rob & Teddy) and their story continues in the sequel Little Men and Jo's Boys. The book closes with the whole family together in Jo's apple orchard, reflecting on their lives & how they each have everything they need.

Characters edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"You are old enough to leave off boyish tricks, and to behave better, Josephine. It didn't matter so much when you were a little girl; but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remember that you are a young lady.""I'm not! And if turning up my hair makes me one, I'll wear it in two tails till I'm twenty," cried Jo, pulling off her net, and shaking down a chestnut mane. "I hate to think I've got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China aster! It's bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boys' games and work and manners! I can't get over my disappointment in not being a boy; and it's worse than ever now, for I'm dying to go and fight with Papa, and I can only stay at home and knit, like a poky old woman!" (1.26-27)”
    Marmee
  • “"For a minute her eyes were too dim for seeing, and, when they cleared, Beth was looking up at her so tenderly that there was hardly any need for her to say, 'Jo, dear, I'm glad you know it. I've tried to tell you, but I couldn't.'"”
    Beth
  • “"Touched to the heart, Mrs. March could only stretch out her arms, as if to gather children and grandchildren to herself, and say, with face and voice full of motherly love, gratitude, and humility--'Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!'"”
    Mrs. March
  • “"Laurie Laurence - what an odd name."”
    Jo
  • “Meg's high-heeled slippers were dreadfully tight, though she would not own it; and Jo's nineteen hairpins all seemed stuck straight into the head, but, dear me, let us be elegant or die.”
  • “"I did not give something that wasn't my own."”
    Jo
  • “You'll be sorry some day, Jo."”
    Laurie
  • “"It's so dreadful to be poor!"”
    Meg
  • “"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all,"”
    Amy
  • “"We've got Father and Mother, and each other,"”
    Beth
  • “"Christmas won't be christmas without any presents,"”
    Jo
Show all 11 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Part 1.
1. Playing Pilgrims
2. A Merry Christmas
3. The Laurence Boy
4. Burdens
5. Being Neighborly
6. Beth Finds The Palace Beautiful
7. Amy's Valley Of Humiliation
8. Jo Meets Apollyon
9. Meg Goes To Vanity Fair
10. The P.C. And P.O.
11. Experiments
12. Camp Laurence
13. Castles In The Air
14. Secrets
15. A Telegram
16. Letters
17. Little Faithful
18. Dark Days
19. Amy's Will
20. Confidential
21. Laurie Makes Mischief, And Jo Makes Peace
22. Pleasant Meadows
23. Aunt March Settles The Question

Part 2.
24. Gossip
25. The First Wedding
26. Artistic Attempts
27. Literary Lessons
28. Domestic Experiences
29. Calls
30. Consequences
31. Our Foreign Correspondent
32. Tender Troubles
33. Jo's Journal
34. Friend
35. Heartache
36. Beth's Secret
37. New Impressions
38. On The Shelf
39. Lazy Laurence
40. The Valley Of The Shadow
41. Learning To Forget
42. All Alone
43. Surprises
44. My Lord And Lady
45. Daisy And Demi
46. Under The Umbrella
47. Harvest Time

Glossary edit see section history

Show all 20 glossary entries

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 5 in Little Women. (standard series)

Followed by Good Wives.

This is book 52 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 50 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
This is book 52 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
This is book 47 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
This book is in 100 Fantabulous Book Challenge. (community list)
This book is in The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge. (community list)
This book is in Movie Tie-Ins 1994. (community list)
This is book 745 of 985 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
This book is in Most Surprising Banned Books. (community list)
This is book 4 of 55 in Biblioteca das Raparigas. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Puffin Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Bantam Classics. (publisher edition list)
This is book 864 of 1286 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
This book is in Sterling Hardcover Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Dodo Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Penguin Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Barnes & Noble Classics. (standard series)
This is book 11 of 95 in Telegraph Top 100 Books, 2008. (authoritative list)
This is book 91 of 113 in Book Smart Reading List. (community list)
This is book 18 of 200 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)
This is book 12 of 39 in Colecção Histórias Selecção. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Penguin Classic Deluxe Edition Book Covers. (community list)
This book is in Reader's Digest Best Loved Classics. (publisher edition list)
This book is in Random Synapses: 100 Book Reading Challenge (2011). (community list)
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 18 of 82 in BBC "Big Read" Top 100 Novels. (authoritative list)
This book is in Azul - Círculo de Leitores. (publisher edition list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Louisa May Alcott (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Camille Cauti (Introduction)
  2. Ann M. Magagna (Illustrator)
  3. Louis Jambour (Illustrator)
  4. Scott McKowen (Illustrator)
  5. Nina Auerbach (Afterword)
  6. José Godofredo de Moura Rangel (Translator) - Portuguese
  7. Maria Marti (Adapter)
  8. Jaime Ivez (Illustrator)
  9. Jorge Pimenta (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: roberts brothers
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1868
ISBN: 0-448-06019-1
Page Count: 759

Classification edit see section history

  • Copyright Status: Public Domain
  • Library of Congress: PZ7
  • Dewey: 813.4

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

This novel is most enjoyed by girls in their tweens or early teens. It has a subtle but strong moral to 'be good', but is still quite fun.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • Project Gutenberg: On Project Gutenberg the full text of this public domain work is available to read online, or to download for free in a variety of eBook and plain text formats.
  • Internet Archive: 1868 Edition of Little Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy
  • Project Gutenberg Audio: An unabridged audiobook of Little Women, available for free in a variety of audiobook formats.

Movie Connections edit see section history

Show all 18 movie connections

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Eight Cousins
  • Rose in Bloom
  • An Old-Fashioned Girl
  • The Wide, Wide World
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Sense and Sensibility
  • Wuthering Heights
  • Jane Eyre
  • Kate's Choice
  • Louisa May Alcott's Christmas Treasury
  • The Inheritance
  • The Candy Country
  • Under the Lilacs
  • The Mysterious Key and What It Opened
  • Hospital Sketches
  • Jack and Jill
  • An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
  • The Abbot's Ghost Or Maurice Treherne's Temptation
  • A Modern Cinderella
  • Good Wives
  • A Garland for Girls
  • Flower Fables
  • A Long Fatal Love Chase
  • Behind A Mask
  • Work

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • Louisa May Alcott
  • Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women": A Study Guide from Gale's "Novels for Students" (Volume 12, Chapter 6)
  • American Bloomsbury
  • Eden's Outcasts
  • The Journals of Louisa May Alcott
  • Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals
  • Little Women Abroad: The Alcott Sisters' Letters from Europe, 1870-1871
  • American Legends: The Life of Louisa May Alcott

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • Books in a Box
  • Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Literature
  • The Language Police

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